Shoutout to that time I had to choose between a dry creek bed or a cow pasture in western Colorado

I was hiking the Plateau Valley loop near Grand Junction last fall and hit a fork where my map showed two equally gnarly options. One route went through this bone dry creek bed that looked like it'd be a scramble over loose rocks for like 2 miles. The other cut straight through a cow pasture that I could see from where I stood, and there were like 30 cows just staring at me. I figured rocks are safer than getting trampled or stepping in fresh cow pies so I picked the creek. Big mistake. After about 20 minutes of slipping on gravel and nearly twisting my ankle twice, I had to backtrack and commit to the pasture. The cows did not care one bit, they just watched me walk through like a total idiot making eye contact with a big bull. Anyone else ever pick the scenic route only to realize the boring option was way smarter?

2 comments

2 Comments

ray_carr19d ago

Haha oh man, I've been there! I actually read this piece online about how cows are basically harmless if you just walk through confidently, they're more curious than aggressive. So you probably would've been fine with the pasture the whole time. But I get the fear, especially with a big bull staring you down. I once took a route through a dried up irrigation ditch and spent an hour picking cactus spines out of my shoes. Live and learn I guess.

lindaw1218d ago

Oh goodness, I've heard that too about cows being more curious than anything. But you can't convince me a bull wouldn't know exactly what he was doing if he decided to charge.